The Classroom Commute

Teachers wear a lot of hats, and if we’re being truly honest, our jobs come with so many more responsibilities than just teaching reading, writing, math, science, and so on.

We’re often asked to play many other roles like counselor, parent, comforter, and friend.  Our students come to us with not just academic needs, but also emotional and social needs, too.  And to ignore these needs would be a disservice to everyone!

Whether it is in our job description or not, supporting the whole child - academically, socially, and emotionally just comes with the territory.

That’s why, today I wanted to revisit an interview I did about a year ago with Victoria from The Mindful Apple.  Victoria is a social worker at an elementary school and she’s been on the podcast several times as our resident expert for all things social emotional learning.

In our conversation, Victoria is going to talk to us, specifically, about growth mindset and the importance for classroom teachers to embrace social emotional learning instruction in their everyday teaching.

Because, as you already know - whether or not you are trained as a social worker or not (and likely, you are not) teachers are still being called on now more than ever to help students with their social emotional needs.  Specifically in this interview, Victoria gives us a great foundation for helping our students develop a growth mindset over a fixed mindset.

In this conversation she’ll share practical ways for teachers to help their students in their classroom.  

FOR COMPLETE SHOW NOTES VISIT:  classroomnook.com/podcast/137

EPISODE 60: Easy Calming Strategies for Elementary Students

EPISODE 86: Making Social Emotional Learning MORE Than a Buzzword

RESOURCE: FREE Growth Mindset Sort 

Victoria’s Social Emotional Learning Curriculum 

Connect with Victoria:

• Join The Mindful Apple community for your weekly brain food : tips, strategies, and resources for your social emotional tool kit! 
• Shop social emotional resources for the elementary classroom
• Learn with Victoria at TheMindfulApple.com

Learn more about the LINKtivity® Learning membership.

Today’s tip isf for all my Google Slide users out there!  You know how sometimes you have a large, lengthy Google Slides presentation, but you only need a few of the slides at a time?

If you’ve ever used one of my units before, whether it’s a science unit or a social studies unit, or even one of my reading units, then you know that my units come with a Google Slides presentation for the digital version of the student activities.  I always have printable and digital versions for students, and the digital version is provided in Google Slides.

For easy of navigating the unit for the teacher, I provide all the student resources that are used for the daily lessons in one large Google Slides presentation.  This makes it easy for teachers to review all the resources that they will need for their unit. 

FOR COMPLETE SHOW NOTES VISIT:  classroomnook.com/podcast/136

Watch the Video Tutorial HERE. 

Unit Studies:

• Science 
• Social Studies
• Reading

Other “Tech Tip” Episodes: 

• EPISODE 104: Classroom Technology Tip: YouTube Hack for Teachers!
• EPISODE 110: Google Slides Teacher Hack: How to Make an Infinite Cloner on an Image or Object
• EPISODE 116: Google Slides Tip: How to View Students Working on THEIR Digital Device from YOUR Digital Device

Follow The Classroom Nook on Instagram

When it comes to writing, teachers and students face many challenges.  Not enough time, not enough motivation, not enough resources.

But Megan Polk, from The Literacy Dive is about to change the game when it comes to teaching writing in the elementary classroom.

Megan knows what it’s like to work with students who lack basic writing skills.  She understands the busy everyday schedule that teachers are working with to try to squeeze in writing.  She gets the demands of a 21st century classroom and the struggle to make writing a priority. 

BUT, Megan knows how to make it work!

In our conversation, Megan brings all her experience and knowledge and shares with us how to get your students writing…AND have fun doing it!

FOR COMPLETE SHOW NOTES VISIT:  classroomnook.com/podcast/135

POST: Giving Students More Choice in the Classroom

Grab Megan’s FREE Writing Prompts HERE.

Keep in Touch with Megan:

• Instagram
• Podcast
• Website

Have you heard the phrase “science of reading” and been afraid to ask EXACTLY what it means? (ignorance is bliss, right?)

Are your worried that it’s just one more NEW thing to add to your teacher plate? (Not ANOTHER reading program!)

Good News!  I’ve brought on special guest, Sara Marye from The Stellar Teacher to break it all down for us (and spoiler alert - it’s NOT another new curriculum that you have to learn)

In fact, the science of reading is NOTHING new, at all - it’s been around for decades.  In our conversation, Sara walks us through what exactly the science of reading is and the important implications for the classroom.

FOR COMPLETE SHOW NOTES VISIT:  classroomnook.com/podcast/134

Grab Sara’s Cheat Sheet HERE.

Podcast Series on Science Of Reading:

• Episode #85: What is the Science of Reading and Why is It Important?
• Episode #86: Understanding Phonological and Phonemic Awareness with Michelle from the Colorful Classroom
• Episode #87: Breaking Down the Elements of Language Comprehension
• Episode #88: Science of Reading Q&A
  
  

Recommended Reading:

• Teaching Phonics & Word Study by Wiley Blevins
• Speech to Print by Louisa Cook Moats
• The Reading Comprehension Blueprint by Nancy Hennessy
  
  

Where to find Sara Marye:

• The Stellar Teacher
• Membership
• Instagram

Kleenex and LINKtivities don’t have an obvious connection, so let me explain.

You see - when you have a runny nose or need to sneeze you have no doubt what you need, right?

You need a Kleenex.

When you need to wipe away a few tears…

You grab a Kleenex.

Kleenex has become so synonymous with the word “tissue” that no one looks at you funny when you ask for a Kleenex (a totally made up word) - they know exactly what you mean.

Kleenex is a household name and boxes of Kleenex can be found in homes all over the world.

You know what else is a made up word?  LINKtivity.

You know what else can be found in classrooms all over the world?  LINKtivities.

And we are on a mission to make LINKtivity a classroom name.  A name that is synonymous with engaging and interactive 21st century instruction.

That might feel like a bold statement, but that’s how passionate and motivated we are to make an impact with LINKtivities in classrooms all over the world.

We believe in them.  Teachers believe in them.  And students are impacted by them.

FOR COMPLETE SHOW NOTES VISIT:  classroomnook.com/podcast/133

Sign up HERE for details about the Back to School with LINKtivity® Event.

Follow LINKtivity® Learning on Instagram 

Join our email family to be sure not to miss out on how to make an impact with LINKtivities this school year.

Today I have an amazing guest!  His name is Jerry Kolber, and Jerry is the co-founder and CEO of edutainment company Atomic Entertainment Group. 

He is also an Emmy-nominated co-creator and showrunner of Nat Geo's biggest hit series Brain Games and Netflix's Brainchild with Pharrell Williams. 

He began his career within the production auditing department of New York Undercover has worked in the entertainment field with networks like Disney, Bravo, HBO, National Geographic, Animal Planet and MTV. 

Overall, Jerry has written, produced, supervised, and run over 400 episodes of various premium television and streaming content pieces.

Today, Jerry is focused on education - specifically changing the game to create a system that helps children learn without stamping them all out of the same mold along the way. 

He is now the voice behind Who Smarted?, a podcast that’s aimed at children ages 6 to 10. Each episode teaches kids something new through humor, stories, and even interactive games. Within just one year, they’ve hit 3 million downloads for the show.

FOR COMPLETE SHOW NOTES VISIT:  classroomnook.com/podcast/132

Listen to the “Who Smarted?” Podcast HERE.

Receive ALL 52 Brainchild Lesson Plans and Activity Handouts FREE! SIGN UP NOW!

Sign up HERE to join Space Camp.

Join LINKtivity Learning

Well - we are moving on from summer (ready or not) as we head into a new school.

August is a weird time for teachers because some of you are already back at school, and some of you have a couple weeks left of summer (but, let’s be honest, are likely already thinking about school)

Teachers are all over the map right now, depending on where you are in the country (or even the world).  However - I think today’s topic will really help ground us all as we start a new school year.

One of the ways that I want to help you kick off a new school year is by sharing 3 questions that every teacher should ask themselves before they start a new year.  

And if you’ve already started, ask yourself these now- it’s not too late.

FOR COMPLETE SHOW NOTES VISIT:  classroomnook.com/podcast/131

Download the August calendar of events HERE.

EPISODE 34: Routines and Procedures Every TEACHER Needs

EPISODE 97: Creating a Multimedia Classroom Part 1

EPISODE 98: Creating a Multimedia Classroom Part 2

POST: Back to School Series: Setting Up Classroom Routines and Procedures

August is a crazy busy time as teachers are preparing for Back to School!

In this episode, learn some amazing ways that you can save both time and money as you prepare for a new school year!

From site-wide sales, to flash sales, to giveaways and other fun events...don't miss all that we've got going on in August!

Be sure to download our "August Calendar of Savings" to get all the details and links!

CLICK HERE for complete show notes

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LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE:
Summer Teacher Road Trip
Teachers Pay Teachers
The Classroom Nook Teacher Shop
August Calendar of Savings
The Classroom Nook on Instagram
LINKtivity Learning Membership

Teacher Summer Road Trip 2022:  Week 8

This summer we are revisiting some of the most popular tourist destinations (aka popular podcast episodes) of the 2021-2022 school year.

Each week join us here on the podcast as we revisit these action-packed, and idea-inspiring episodes as your rest, and refuel for the upcoming school year.

This week’s stop:  Gamification in the Upper Elementary Classroom

Destination Highlights:

• What is gamification and how does it work in the classroom?
• Easy ways you can make learning feel more like playing
• How to gamify every day learning...without a lot of work

FOR COMPLETE SHOWNOTES FROM THE ORIGINAL EPISODE: CLICK HERE
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LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE:

Click HERE to listen to the TED talk with Paul Anderson

Learning Game Apps:

• Kahoot
• Quizlet

Join the LINKtivity Learning Membership and get access to my entire vault of LINKtivity Interactive Learning Guides - Click HERE to join.

Teacher Summer Road Trip 2022:  Week 7

This summer we are revisiting some of the most popular tourist destinations (aka popular podcast episodes) of the 2021-2022 school year.

Each week join us here on the podcast as we revisit these action-packed, and idea-inspiring episodes as your rest, and refuel for the upcoming school year.

This week's destination: Top Questions to Ask Before Starting Readers and Writers Workshop

Highlights from the episode:

• How to set yourself (& your students) up for success right from the start
• Why your reading and writing environment matters
• What you should be teaching at the beginning of the year (it might now be what you think)

FOR COMPLETE SHOWNOTES FROM THE ORIGINAL EPISODE: CLICK HERE
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LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE

EPISODE 29: How to Launch Reader's Workshop in Your Classroom

EPISODE 30:  How to Launch Writer's Workshop in the Upper Elementary Classroom

EPISODE 62: Why You Need a "Share Chair" In Your Reading and Writing Workshop

RESOURCES:

• IntelliScanner (affiliate link)
• Online catalog like Book Source Classroom Organizer.  
• Smart phone apps like iBookshelf, Book Crawler, and Book Buddy  
• Launching Reader's and Writer's Workshop Bundle 

Grab these TWO FREEBIES:

• Teacher’s Guide to Reader’s Workshop 
• Teacher’s Guide to Writer’s Workshop